Reviving decades of classic glamour rock, The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra delivered a powerful and respectful tribute to the Duke of Rock and Roll. David Bowie is a very well known name. Even if Ziggy Stardust doesn’t appear on your iTunes playlist, the odds are that you have heard one of his many great songs that have filled his career, which spans back to the mid 1960’s.
It was a delight to experience the conducting of Brent Havens, who led the music with a whimsical yet very accurate rendition of the classics. The catalogue stayed within music that would have commonly been on the top 40 charts at the song’s time of release. This pleased the audience as it was both an adventure in time and an enjoyable experience to hear something so recognizable, performed in a similar yet somehow very different manner.
Tony Vincent is our Bowie, and unfortunately, a poor choice. Telling the audience, “I had three weeks to prepare…” proved that not only did they select someone who didn’t have the passion to play Bowie, but also someone who is very unfamiliar with his catalogue. However, he used the three weeks wisely as his vocals were very strong and at points with your eyes closed, you could imagine it was the Duke himself.
Very little was discussed about Bowie and his career. We received very boring and repetitive remarks about the man they were paying a tribute to. Rather than styling it in a chronological fashion, the producers chose a random dispersing of genres and eras from his albums. This works in the sense that they are paying a simple tribute, which makes sense with the catalogue choice. Rather than taking us through the story of David Bowie, and in this fashion we miss a lot of elements and chances for great stories for audience members, who do not necessarily know much about Bowie, but can become very close to his music.
The music was very well sequenced and the show had a nice design to it with a simple stage set up and smaller than expected orchestra. However, there certainly was a “glam” effect that the audience was expecting.
The orchestra was phenomenal and overpowered the abilities of Tony Vincent. Maintaining a certain style and method through the entire show however, was a poor choice and plan.
David Bowie is a man we know has changed his style not only in physical form, but certainly in his music over the years. No one album of David’s has a similar sound. They all tell a different story and have a different feeling and sound. The sound of the orchestra remained with a very consistent tone through every piece, which did not seem recognizable to the man they were playing tribute to.
Ultimately, this show was worth seeing for the simple fact that it is David Bowie, a beloved musician and wonderfully well known man. They used music that was recognizable which was the best decision as it was well received by the audience. It was a show certainly worth seeing again. It is not an easy task to take on but they did it and won over this big Bowie fan. Cheers to Brent Havens for his work conducting the orchestra.
Feature image courtesy of VSO
Not sure if you heard Tony’s comments accurately Hayden. The “three weeks to prepare” may have applied from the time that Bowie died last January until when they launched the first show (it had been in preparation for some time, long before Bowie’s death). Tony did say that he knew the catalogue well, having grown up with it. And he has performed the show dozens of times since they took it on the road early this year.